I had been following the Republican Primaries with great interest, and I was outraged by the Establishment’s political acrobatics in keeping Congressman Ron Paul out. Dr. Paul was the best candidate among the Libertarian wing of the GOP, and was the only voice of sanity among a pool of half-baked nuts who spewed forth stupid issues such as Obama’s citizenship status, tax cuts for the super-rich, future spending cuts in Social Security, opposition to Medicare, increasing funds for the Pentagon, “special relationship” with Israel and declaring war on Iran. Really, the GOP has come a far way down from the likes of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower and Nixon. Now, it is run by a bunch of Marxists in Christian garb.

The Founding Fathers of the USA were very clear with the direction that their state must take to ensure “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. Currently, all three have been negated with the PATRIOT Act and the NDAA. With such a strong history of libertarianism in the USA, it is no wonder that Dr. Paul is so popular, especially among the youth and the veterans. However, with the disgusting tactics of the GOP, Ron Paul was sidelined, and Romney took centre-stage – a disaster which many Republicans warned against. A serial flip-flopper on issues, Romney was never trusted by the conservative network, and he received votes only because his voters wanted to get rid of Obama. Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party didn’t receive much anti-Obama and anti-Romney votes because of the lack of publicity for his campaign by the Establishment Media.

Romney’s humiliating defeat was not surprising – the President was confident about his abilities and his experience, and could easily counter Romney’s naive remarks. In any case, both hold the same views on most issues, so the voters really had no choice, except on the issue of the nomination of the Supreme Court Justices.

All in all, a very disappointing election – Obama continues and Ron Paul is going to bid farewell to Washington. Republicans hold the House, Democrats the Senate, and the political bickering will go on for the next four years. The Tea Party surged, was bought by the Koch brothers, and it lost steam. The Occupy Movement caused a sensation, and fizzled out too. The Green Party and the Libertarian Party still remain marginalized. Isn’t there anyone willing to put an end to Washington’s crimes, and bring the world back to sanity? Aren’t there any IR realists (I’m looking at Mearsheimer and Walt) who are willing to exert pressure on the administration to adopt a more sane policy in the world? Take back the troops to your homes – Europe, Japan and South Korea can take care of themselves. Withdraw forces from the Middle East – the wars are not winnable at all. Aren’t there any true fiscal conservatives, who would cut all the unnecessary programs of the government (but retain Healthcare and Social Security), reduce bureaucracy, weed out corruption and balance the budgets? Aren’t there any unorthodox economists who would end the Fed, and outlaw Wall Street banks and financial WMDs.

So many hopes, by so many people all over the world; no silver lining is visible yet…